Former Sudanese Prime Minister, Government Members Protest UN Invitation to Military Leader

Abdallah Hamdok reads his resignation letter on January 2, 2022

September 25, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and other members of the ousted civilian transitional government have protested against the United Nations’ invitation to military coup leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to attend the UN General Assembly.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Hamdok and his co-signers said the invitation was “an encouragement to military coups on the African continent.” They also argued that it contradicted the international community’s stated opposition to the coup, which halted Sudan’s democratic transition.

The letter was also signed by two members of the Sovereign Council, Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman and Mohamed Hassan al-Taishi, as well as prominent ministers in Hamdok’s government, including Khaled Omer Youssif, Nasr al-Din Abdel Bari, and Hamdok’s political adviser Yasir Arman.

The co-signers said that inviting Burhan to the UNGA was “a contradiction to the desire of the Sudanese people for democracy, peace, and justice.”

They also criticized Burhan’s speech at the UNGA, saying that it did not offer a vision for stopping the war in Sudan or ending the suffering of civilians.

The Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), a civilian alliance that led the protests against former President Omer al-Bashir, criticized Burhan’s speech before the UNGA. In a statement on September 22, The pro-democratcy coaition said that Burhan did not make any clear pledges to address the crisis facing Sudan.

Former Sovereign Council member al-Faki told Sudan Tribune that the purpose of the memorandum is to encourage the Sudanese army commander-in-chief to stop the war and resume negotiations to achieve peace. He stressed that “The signers of the letter were encouraging al-Burhan to move on the path to peace, as his speech at the United Nations did not meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people”.

Al-Burhan is expected to take a clearer position on the Jeddah peace process during a visit he will pay to Saudi Arabia in the coming days.

The talks stalled after the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary force led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ” Hemetti”, refused to withdraw it fighters from Khartoum. The army has said that it will not give up on this demand.

(ST)